Claire Poiré

Claire Poiré defines her sculpture-making as a process of "inventing" a space to convey a sensation. Poiré uses bronze to cast thin twigs and other castoffs from the forest floor, and molds them into graceful, limber bodies whose frozen movements epitomize the spirit of dance. She describes a preoccupation with the disruption of traditional values, but her anarchic streak expresses itself in works which most often emanate joy and peacefulness. Her figures embody a sense of equilibrium which segues into the universal, drawing on cosmic dichotomies-yin and yang, anima and animus, man and woman-and setting them to rest in serene, eternal stillness. Dance provides a wise conduit for her quest for balance.

Poiré speaks eloquently of her interest in bronze, observing that "it radiates strength and solidity, while being at the same time infinitely plastic in its ability to transmit the smallest details." The pliant metal seems to join in a slow waltz with time, competitively long-lasting and undeniably grounded in its heft, and yet wholly sensitive to its effects. These figures absorb the impact of Poiré's investigation of conflict and healing. Suspended perpetually on their pedestals, they fill the air with their liberty.